Despite Hurricane Ophelia's dampening efforts, the St Croix Valley Amateur Radio Club's third annual Hamfest, held at the Alexander Elementary School, was a great success. Many people came to look over the high tech flea market where several vendors and individuals had interesting electronics and radio equipment to buy, sell or trade. The ARRL also sent and displayed a large amount of free informational material.
One of the primary goals for several of the visitors was to pass a test in order to either become a licensed ham radio operator or to upgrade an existing license. New ham Greg Berry succeeded in earning his General License, while Dale Wing, Jon Mahar, and Tom Dwelley achieved the Extra License. The testers for the day were club members Mike Breckinridge, Mike Sanford and Skip McGarvery. Skip Colson was the main organizer of the event, and the club, at their monthly meeting, declared their appreciation for all his hard work.
There were several drawings for a door prize, as well as a 50/50, all of which were drawn at the club meeting and will be delivered to the fortunate winners. The purpose of a Hamfest isn't to raise money, but to make available to hams in the area, as well as those who might be interested in becoming a ham, a good source of equipment, advice, information, and necessary testing, with some good camaraderie mixed in too.
